Akira Watanabe (art director)

For other uses, see Akira Watanabe.
Akira Watanabe
渡辺 明
Watanabe on set of Lady from Hell.
BornMay 13, 1908
Fukui, Japan[1]
Died1999
NationalityJapanese
Occupation(s)Art director, special effects director
Years active1942-1968

Akira Watanabe (Japanese: 渡辺 明, Hepburn: Watanabe Akira, May 13, 1908 – 1999) was a Japanese special effects art director who worked on 38 films in a career spanning 25 years.

Career

On April 1, 1929, Watanabe graduating from art school, and joined Shochiku as an assistant director, then transferred to Toho in 1941 upon the recommendation of Eiji Tsuburaya, working on his first film with the company the following year.[2] He left Toho in 1966 after serving as Tsuburaya's art director on Invasion of Astro-Monster.[3] With Japanese Special Effects Productions, which was later called Japanese Special Effects Film Co., Ltd., he directed special effects on Gappa: The Triphibian Monster, Nikkatsu's sole Showa kaiju film,[4] and the Japanese-American co-production The Green Slime.[5]

Partial filmography

Special effects art director

Special effects director

Miscellaneous

References

  1. ^ Encyclopedia of Godzilla. Gakken. 1 January 1990. p. 101.
  2. ^ Inoue, Hideyuki (1994). 検証・ゴジラ誕生―昭和29年・東宝撮影所. Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama. ISBN 978-4-257-03394-3.
  3. ^ 東宝特撮映画全史. Tomoyuki Tanaka (Shohan ed.). Tokyo: Tōhō Kabushiki Kaisha Shuppan Jigyōshitsu. 1983. ISBN 4-92460-900-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. ^ a b Galbraith IV 1994, p. 146.
  5. ^ a b Galbraith IV 1994, p. 172.
  6. ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 27.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "渡辺明". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-07-10.
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